Top Things to do in Otago Region
Top 10 Hiking Trails in Otago Region, South Island
Discover the best top things to do in Otago Region, New Zealand including Otago Central Rail Trail, Mt Crichton Loop Track, Ben Lomond Track, Roxburgh Gorge Trail, Roys Peak Track, Sandfly Bay Track, West Matukituki Track, Isthmus Peak Track, Mt Judah Track, Rob Roy Track.
Restaurants in Otago Region
1. Otago Central Rail Trail
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,149 reviews
The Otago Central Rail Trail - New Zealand's Original Great Ride. Open all year round this cycleway takes you through 152kms of remarkable Central Otago landscape away from roads and vehicles, yet never far from the next town. Whether you start from Clyde or Middlemarch, the wide easy gradient is suitable for riders, walkers and cyclists of all ages. You may choose to go solo, or share the experience with friends, either way it's a trail of discovery best enjoyed at a leisurely pace. Discover historic villages, enjoy local food and drink and the famous southern hospitality. As you travel through this untamed natural environment there is plenty to explore on and off the trail. Don't miss this 'must do' experience.
Reviewed By talloaks1
We completed the Otago rail trail at the beginning of this week starting in Clyde and ending in Middlemarch. We had an awesome tour operator Nick, who went above and beyond and organised awesome accommodation including his own home, a well appointed home near St Bathans. We loved the whole experience including curling in Naseby. Highly recommend, especially on an E - bike for this 58 year old!
2. Mt Crichton Loop Track
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 113 reviews
Always check the website for changes that might affect your trip.
Reviewed By Navigate310631
A lovely walk done in 2- 3 hours .like other reviews it is best done clockwise .Best place to stop fort lunch is by the only seat with fantastic views .
3. Ben Lomond Track
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 693 reviews
Always check the website for changes that might affect your trip.
Reviewed By lottie27 - Balmain, Australia
As a 30-year old, reasonably fit female who had hiked Ben Lomond seven years previous, I actually found this hike to be reasonably ok for the most part. I had in fact hiked Roy’s Peak, Wanaka the day previous so wasn’t sure how my legs would feel doing two quite big hikes consecutively. As per the other reviews, there are two options, either start at the bottom of the Skyline Gondola (on Beacon St) and take the Tiki Trail up, or pay $38 (or something) and take about 45mins - 1hour (each way) off your hiking time and get the Gondola. For the challenge, I chose the first option and commenced my hike at 7.30am at the bottom of the Tiki Trail. The Tiki Trial is actually quite tough, constantly uphill and over some pretty rough terrain. I grabbed a good stick to use as a hiking pole in the forest and I think this certainly helped me overall. By 8.10am I was at the Skyline Gondola where the views are actually pretty fantastic in their own right. A quick 5 minute toilet stop here and I left the top of the Gondola to commence the hike at about 8.20am. The Ben Lomond track is well signposted from here (much better than when I first did this hike seen years ago) and it says 1.5 hours to the saddle and 2.5 hours to the summit. The hike from the Gondola to the saddle I found to be quite ok... yes it’s constantly uphill but not THAT steep and I in fact made it to the saddle in just under an hour from leaving the top of the Gondola - arriving at 9.15am. The saddle is where the easy hiking sure ends - the hike from the saddle to the summit was particularly strenuous. Having hiked Roy’s Peak the day before, my quads were burning. From the saddle to the summit, it is very much scrambling (on your hands as knees at times) up a rocky mountain face. Even on a dry day like I had I found it quite unsteady underfoot at times. That said, I made it to the summit from the saddle in about 40 minutes. The decent was quite tough on the knees but not as bad as Roy’s Peak and it was nice to be able to take in the views. I got back to the Skyline Gondola by 11.10am (1hr 10mins after leaving the summit), stopped for a cold drink and made it to the bottom of the Tiki Trail just after 12pm - 4.5 hours after commencing. I did walk quite fast and took very few breaks but it just goes to show that it doesn’t need to be a 6/8 hour hike if you’re reasonably fit. The crowds are much smaller than the Roy’s Peak track, even on a beautiful summers day like I had which I found made this hike more appealing. The walk itself is also more varied (having the Tiki Trail forest, the steady climb to the saddle and then the steep scramble to the summit) which made it a little more interesting than the zig zag of Roy’s Peak. My only comment would be that I didn’t find the views (from the saddle or summit) as amazing as the ones from Roy’s Peak, but overall a challenging, enjoyable hike. I didn’t have proper hiking boots and found my Nike trainers did the job ok, just be wary of twisted ankles on the climb to the summit. I found a long stick to be really helpful on the hike to the saddle, although had to lose it to the summit so I had both hands free to grab hold of things around me. Take lots of water, snacks, clothing and suncream as the weather can be very changeable.
4. Roxburgh Gorge Trail
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 103 reviews
Open all year round, the trail is a well-formed 2.5 metre wide gravel surface with some climbs. It will take up to four or five hours to complete depending on how you choose to experience it. The trail’s proximity to the Otago Central Rail Trail and the Clutha Gold Trail will also ensure that visitors to the area will have the opportunity to experience even more of Central Otago’s unique scenery.
Reviewed By brentloe54 - Auckland, New Zealand
A great trail not hard or technically or physically challenging and suitable for bikers with a moderate level of fitness. The first 10km is low down to the water then an interesting 40-45 minute jet boat ride seeing gold mining relics between doctors pt and shingle creek and then completing the gradual uphill climb up to the rim of the gorge and then down and around to the Roxburgh Dam to trail end A good well graded trail with fantastic rocky open scenery
5. Roys Peak Track
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 916 reviews
The track is closed for lambing from 1 October - 10 November each year. Always check the website for changes that might affect your trip.
Reviewed By winterystorm - Cairns, Australia
I was lucky enough to be with a group on the Runaways Southern Highlights tour. These guys know what they are doing. We started on the mountain at 4am and with the awesome moonlight didn't need to use our headlamps. I would totally recommend starting as early as you can. When the sun comes out there is no hiding from it, no shade at all. The tour director rightly called many sections of it punchy. It took some in the group 1:45 to get to the peak, but it was -1 (degrees celcius) and pretty darn chilly. I took 2:30 and made it just in the nick of time to see one of the most spectacularly majestic sunrises I've ever seen. If you haven't been training for hills/mountains, then start early, take a good amount of water, dress sensibly to protect yourself from the sun on the way up and the cold at the top and wear shoes with decent grip. It's pretty steep in some parts. Expect it to be difficult but know that when you get to the top, every second will have been worth it. Just sooooo incredible. I found that doing a zig zag type move in the really steep bits helped a lot and of course having Isaac, tour director of Runaways encouraging me helped more than I probably realise. I'm 45 and my fitness is average. Still even in my less fit days, the breathlessness and sore muscles are totally worth it. Just be well prepared.
6. Sandfly Bay Track
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 61 reviews
Always check the website for changes that might affect your trip.
Reviewed By zhuhai2007 - Christchurch, New Zealand
An easy drive to the car park and short walk to see NZ fur seals sunning themselves on the sand at low tide.
7. West Matukituki Track
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 11 reviews
Always check the website for changes that might affect your trip. See website for the price of accommodation on this track.
Reviewed By AwayDayswithHubby
Just drove to Raspberry Creek with my daughter. What amazing scenery. We were just out for a little drive but once we'd started we just didn't want to stop. Such a shame we hadn't gone dressed for the walk at the end. We will definitely go back. The real fruit ice-cream caravan was an unexpected treat.
8. Isthmus Peak Track
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 56 reviews
Reviewed By RennieMD
We do a lot of hikes but wasn’t too keen on Roy’s Peak given the popularity etc. Had a brief look on the trail maps and we decided on Mt Isthmus. It was a steady up hill the entire way and not much easier on the downhill. Wide path so group walking is easy. The views were unreal and basically the entire duration of the walk. We passed 6 or 8 groups and all we’re genuine hikers/trail walkers (aka were appreciating the experience without having to shout about it). The vista at the top was breathtaking and very well worth it. We walked the duration at a steady pace and completed in 3.45hrs. Go and enjoy, minus the crowds! PS don’t rely on Lake Hawea for pre-walk snacks and coffee.
9. Mt Judah Track
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 9 reviews
Reviewed By blurryshooter
Hiked here while staying in Queenstown. The drive up toward Glenorchy where the trailhead is located was one of my favorites on this trip, the lake is so blue. I hiked the track toward the Bonnie Jean Hut. There were a few other cars in the parking lot but I didn’t see any other hikers during the majority of the hike. It was awesome to feel the peace and solitude surrounded by the mountains on this hike as it was so much less busy than many of the other hikes I took on this trip. The track is well marked and wide throughout and steadily uphill but never steep or technical, at least on the track I took. Of course the views back toward the lake and Glenorchy were beautiful.
10. Rob Roy Track
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 38 reviews
Reviewed By JW_Dam - Nijmegen, The Netherlands
The track offers a lot of stunning views, half way we took our pached lunch on a bench with view to the glacier. Once at the end the view is even more splendid, many small waterfalls and the snow covered mountain tops in front of the end of the trail. More than worth while but a reasonable good condition is necessary.
